Americans United - Southern Poverty Law Centerhttps://au.org/tags/southern-poverty-law-center
enFuzzy Map: Religious Right Group Accuses Americans United And Its Allies Of Being A Bevy Of Bigotshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fuzzy-map-religious-right-group-accuses-americans-united-and-its-allies-of
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Now, not to be outdone by their competitors, the American Family Association (AFA) has placed us on its “Bigotry Map.”</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It’s a banner month for Americans United. First, we’re named one of the greatest “enemies of Christianity” in the U.S. <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/frightening-five-religious-right-legal-group-singles-out-dangerous-enemies">by our old friends the Liberty Institute</a>. Now, not to be outdone by their competitors, the American Family Association (AFA) has placed us on its <a href="http://www.afa.net/bigotrymap">“Bigotry Map.”</a><br /><br />A note on the map: the AFA, which is known for many things but not necessarily for innovation, appears to have copied the idea directly from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, founded in 1971 to combat hate crime in the southern United States, produces a <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map">“Hate Map”</a> that documents active white supremacist groups, extremist militias, and anti-LGBT hate groups. To most, it’s a useful resource. To the AFA, it’s an insult: The group earned a spot on the Hate Map for, well, hate.</p><p>And now, behold the Bigotry Map. It isn’t particularly impressive. The AFA seems persistently confused about the actual location of our national office. That office is located in Washington, D.C. The AFA either doesn’t know this, or decided to ignore it in favor of dotting its map with the locations of our various local chapters – and it didn’t get most of the chapter locations right, either.<br /><br />Geography is merely the first of a litany of failures here. To address the deeper problem with our inclusion on this map: Americans United is not an anti-Christian organization. We’ve never been an anti-Christian organization. Most of our founders were Christians, and we’re led by a <a href="https://au.org/about/people/barry-lynn-0">Christian minister</a> now. Although Americans United is diverse, we have many Christian members and chapter activists, and we regularly form coalitions with a number of faith traditions.</p><p>The AFA doesn’t mention those facts, but I suppose it doesn’t need to; it knows that its supporters will dig no deeper for the truth.</p><p>AU’s great sin, as far I can tell, is that we understand that the First Amendment creates a wall of separation between church and state. We understand that the Founding Fathers weren’t actually fundamentalist Christians, and that religious liberty can only be adequately safeguarded by a secular government.</p><p>Those facts – and they are facts – are antithetical to the AFA’s mission. The group depends on a revisionist nostalgia that positions the United States as a fundamentalist Christian country, and makes it the true gatekeeper of this dogmatic legacy.</p><p>This nostalgia has no basis in reality, and that means it’s very fragile. Advocates for secular government threaten its political power. And that explains the rest of the AFA’s map. Its creators attempted to list all active atheist groups, no matter how small they actually are, as “bigoted” groups to watch. In a confusing twist, it places humanist groups in a different category and they’re identified separately on the map. The AFA defines atheists as anyone “critical of those who express their faith in public,” and humanists as individuals who “critical thinking and physical evidence are the sole basis for beliefs.”<br /><br />Not all atheists are humanists, of course; this is a source of continuous debate in the non-theistic community. But that’s probably not why the AFA listed the groups separately on its map. A far more likely explanation: They needed to fill space.</p><p>The truth is that there aren’t any real threats to Christianity in America. Fundamentalists who want to argue otherwise have to invent their enemies. So our local chapters get listed right alongside local gatherings of atheists and, for a reason none of us can fathom, the American Association of Retired People (AARP).</p><p>According to the Bigotry Map, the AARP supports marriage equality, and the map lists pro-LGBT groups alongside atheists, humanists, and “anti-Christian” foes like Americans United. It’s still an odd choice. Even odder: Larger secular groups, like the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, N.Y., <a href="http://www.centerforinquiry.net/newsroom/put_us_on_your_enemies_list_demands_center_for_inquiry_of_american_family_a/">are missing from the map</a>.</p><p>The AFA’s map is full of holes, and so is their definition of “bigotry.” Secular government doesn’t threaten Christianity; LGBT equality doesn’t threaten Christianity; the mere existence of atheism doesn’t threaten Christianity. The greatest threat to Christianity is the brand of fundamentalism the AFA is trying to promote. </p><p>For all these reasons, we're glad to be listed. If we annoy the AFA this much, it’s proof we’re doing something right.<br /> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/responding-common-attacks-church-state-separation">Responding to Common Attacks on Church-State Separation</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aarp">AARP</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/center-inquiry">Center for Inquiry</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/equality">equality</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/atheism">atheism</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-right-0">Religious Right</a></span></div></div>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 17:29:58 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones10899 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fuzzy-map-religious-right-group-accuses-americans-united-and-its-allies-of#commentsBad Ben: Carson’s Anti-LGBTQ Rhetoric Lands Him On SPLC’s ‘Extremist Files’https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bad-ben-carson-s-anti-lgbtq-rhetoric-lands-him-on-splc-s-extremist-files
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Carson’s religious beliefs didn’t land him on the SPLC list. It’s his desire to restrict the rights of millions of Americans simply because they don’t think the way he does.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The Religious Right’s favorite doctor, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, has a well-documented history of making hateful statements. As a result, he finds himself listed in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) “Extremist Files.” </p><p>Carson actually landed on the list, which includes the likes of pseudo-historian David Barton, American Family Association President Tim Wildmon and Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, in October. But the Religious Right didn’t notice until last week. Carson’s allies <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ben-carson-splc-anti-lgbt-extremist">were not pleased</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/02/09/ben-carson-responds-to-splc-over-extremist-charge/">In an interview</a> published yesterday, Carson shot back, claiming he was attacked for his Christian beliefs.</p><p>“When embracing traditional Christian values is equated to hatred, we are approaching the stage where wrong is called right and right is called wrong,” Carson said. “It is important for us to once again advocate true tolerance. That means being respectful of those with whom we disagree and allowing people to live according to their values without harassment. It is nothing but projectionist when some groups label those who disagree with them as haters.”</p><p>Unfortunately, Carson’s idea of tolerance is a bit different from most what most people hold – but few took notice until recent years.</p><p>Before 2013, Carson was not well known outside small circles of the Religious Right. But he shot to prominence when he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, and after subsequent appearances at events like the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit, he has been talked about as a possible GOP presidential candidate. By all indications, Carson – who has no political experience – is seriously considering making a run for the White House.</p><p>But Carson comes with a lot of baggage. Despite a sparkling resume that includes an undergraduate degree from Yale and a past teaching position at Johns Hopkins University, he is known to make incendiary comments that disparage the LGBTQ community.</p><p>The SPLC offers <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get%20informed/intelligence%20files/profiles/Ben%20Carson">a laundry list</a> of some of Carson’s “greatest” hits, including the time he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that same-sex marriage is equivalent to bestiality and incest.</p><p>“Marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA [North American Man/Boy Love Association, a group advocating pedophilia], be they people who believe in bestiality – it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition,” he said in a May 2013 interview.</p><p>In his 2012 book, <em>America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great</em>, Carson made similar comments, claiming that attempts to “redefine marriage” would bring about a “disastrous ending” for the U.S. much like “the dramatic fall of the Roman Empire.”</p><p>(Of course that prediction hasn’t come true.)</p><p>And, like a lot on the right these days, Carson <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bad-prescription-the-religious-right-s-favorite-doctor-misdiagnoses-the">has even praised Russia</a> for its virulent stands against same-sex marriage and attempt to restrict LGBTQ rights – even though the country remains a totalitarian state.</p><p>When not spewing hate, Carson sometimes offers up theories that are truly nutty. Last month at the Iowa Freedom Summit, a showcase for likely GOP presidential candidates that was organized by Religious Right ally U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), he said same-sex couples <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/ben-carson-gay-cakes-poison-_n_6547226.html">should be wary</a> of ordering cakes from bakers who are against gay marriage.</p><p>“What I have a problem with is when people try to force people to act against their beliefs because they say, ‘They’re discriminating against me,’” Carson said. “So they can go right down the street and buy a cake, but no, let’s bring a suit against this person because I want them to make my cake even though they don’t believe in it.”</p><p>He then added, “[That] is really not all that smart because they might put poison in that cake.”</p><p>Of course to Carson, this is all just an expression of his religious faith. But as many Christians would point out, what the bad doctor is espousing is far from authentic Christianity; rather, it’s the Religious Right’s twisted version of that idea.</p><p>Carson’s religious beliefs didn’t land him on the SPLC list. It’s his desire to restrict the rights of millions of Americans simply because they don’t think the way he does. If that doesn’t qualify for “Extremist Files,” I don’t know what does. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ben-carson">Ben Carson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tim-wildmon">Tim Wildmon</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/david-barton">David Barton</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-reasearch-council">Family Reasearch Council</a></span></div></div>Tue, 10 Feb 2015 18:24:00 +0000Simon Brown10879 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bad-ben-carson-s-anti-lgbtq-rhetoric-lands-him-on-splc-s-extremist-files#commentsMississippi Blues: New Lawsuit Accuses Town Of Anti-Gay Prejudicehttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/mississippi-blues-new-lawsuit-accuses-town-of-anti-gay-prejudice
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Last year, Pat “PJ” Newton applied for a license to open a bar and café in the town. That should have been an uncontroversial proposal, but local residents rallied to oppose it. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The website of Shannon, Miss., advertises the town as a place for growth – and a bulwark of family values.<br /><br />“Today we take pride in being on the quiet side of county with our relaxed country living where traditions of family, faith, and brotherly love make up who we are today,” it <a href="http://townofshannon.org/">reads</a>.</p><p>But the small town’s resistance to a proposed gay bar make it clear that in Shannon, faith trumps brotherly love.<br /><br />Last year, Pat “PJ” Newton applied for a license to open a bar and café in the town. That should have been an uncontroversial proposal, but local residents rallied to oppose it. At a town hall meeting, residents presented a petition asking the town’s aldermen to deny the proposal.<br /><br />Their concerns, they said, were simply due to the business’ nature as a bar, which would offer “no benefits or enhancements to the citizens of the Town of Shannon.” For the record, Shannon is not a dry town. It’s already home to a <a href="https://plus.google.com/104762970049150901232/about?gl=us&amp;hl=en">sports bar</a>. There’s more context to this story, though it doesn’t appear in the petition, or in the aldermen’s decision to deny Newton her license.</p><p>It wouldn’t have been Newton’s first business venture in Shannon; she ran a gay bar, O’Hara’s, until 1998. O’Hara’s served as a gathering place for the Deep South’s marginalized LGBT community, a safe haven in a region bristling with anti-gay attitudes.<br /><br />And according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, those attitudes are responsible for thwarting Newton’s latest business plan. In a <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/splc_shannon_ms_complaint_10_01_13.pdf">lawsuit</a> filed on Newton’s behalf, the SPLC argues that prejudice motivated the town’s decision. By denying Newton a license to open a gay bar, the town violated her constitutional rights.<br /><br />A new investigative <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/shannon-mississippi-gay-bar_n_4183751.html">report</a> by the Huffington Post appears to support that argument. Betty Scott, a signatory to the petition, told the Post, “I'm anti-gay.”<br /><br />“I know that’s not politically correct these days, but that’s the way I feel,” Scott said. “I’m a Christian and in the eyes of God it’s an abomination.”<br /><br />Another resident echoed Scott’s concerns. “I don’t think we need any bars, but we sure don’t need a gay and lesbian bar,” she told the Post. “That’s for New York and places like that. Not for a little town.”<br /><br />Shannon , with a population of about 1,700, is certainly a little town. But even in a small community deep in the heart of Mississippi, LGBT people exist. Newton’s old gay bar gave them a necessary shelter. The SPLC argues that the community can tolerate another.<br /><br />“Rural Mississippi is not, as a general matter, a place that welcomes LGBT individuals like Newton,” the suit reads. It further alleges that Shannon itself has a particularly grim history of anti-gay prejudice. The few out LGBT residents in the area report bigoted threats; in one case, first responders refused to assist a bleeding man believed to be gay.</p><p>It makes sense that this prejudice would extend to the town’s leadership. The Post reports that according to remarks overheard by another resident, Alderman Joey McCord understood and welcomed the prospect of a lawsuit.<br /><br />“It will be tied up in court for two years and that's two years she won’t be able to open,” he told townspeople. And in 2010, a town clerk told another gay entrepreneur that the town “would not tolerate an establishment that catered to the LGBT community.”<br /><br />The people of Shannon are entitled to their interpretation of the Bible. They are not entitled to conduct official town business based on their interpretation of the Bible. Newton’s business proposal should be judged on its merits, not by her sexual orientation, and if Shannon’s leaders allowed anti-gay prejudice to influence their decision they egregiously violated the First Amendment.<br /><br />It’s time for Shannon to prove its commitment to brotherly love – and to the Constitution.<br /><br /> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-free-exercise-issues-including-rfras-zoning-etc">Other Free Exercise Issues (including RFRAs, zoning, etc.)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/homophobia">homophobia</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mississippi">Mississippi</a></span></div></div>Fri, 08 Nov 2013 17:10:49 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones9136 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/mississippi-blues-new-lawsuit-accuses-town-of-anti-gay-prejudice#commentsValues Void: Religious Right Group Says Southern Poverty Law Center Is ‘Agent Of Hate’ https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/values-void-religious-right-group-says-southern-poverty-law-center-is-agent
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Is the American Family Association extreme? Judge for yourself. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A few days ago, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/members-of-congress-urged-to-not-legitimize-extremism-by-speaking-at-values-voter-">a press release</a> urging members of Congress not to attend the Family Research Council’s annual “Values Voter Summit,” which kicks off today.</p><p>The SPLC noted that the FRC and the American Family Association (AFA), which co-sponsors the Summit, “have long records of vilifying the LGBT community and spreading other forms of bigotry.”</p><p>In response, the AFA issued a press statement accusing the SPLC of being “an agent of hate by mindlessly and recklessly stirring up animosity against Americans who share the Christian values of the Founders.”</p><p>Furthermore, the AFA asserts, the SPLC is “a shameless fund-raising scam” that uses “innuendo, lies and manufactured charges” to rake in money. The SPLC’s crime, it seems, is that it has been raising funds to build an endowment – a fairly typical thing for non-profits to do.</p><p>Does the AFA spread bigotry? Is the group extreme? We can best answer those questions by examining some things that Bryan Fischer, the AFA’s director of issue analysis for government and public policy, has said within the past few years. Fischer has become a rock star in the world of the Religious Right by making outrageous statements. The AFA has made no effort to reel him in. </p><p>Here are just a few of Fischer’s greatest hits: </p><p><em>September 2013:</em> Fischer says that liberals plan to<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-liberals-seek-eliminate-us-public-society"> “eliminate” conservative Christians</a> from society and force them into special zones where they’ll be required to wear identifying badges – just like Nazi Germany.</p><p><em>June 2013:</em> In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act, <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/mad-over-marriage-religious-right-responds-to-today-s-supreme-court-rulings">Fischer tweets</a>, “With the DOMA decision, we have ceased to be a constitutional republic. The words “We the people’ are now meaningless” and “The DOMA ruling has now made the normalization of polygamy, pedophilia, incest and bestiality inevitable. Matter of time.”</p><p><em>May 2013:</em> Men, Fischer <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/29/christian-radio-host-upset-by-female-breadwinners-women-not-designed-to-be-providers/">patiently explains</a>, are “designed to be breadwinners for their families.” Women, on the other hand, are supposed to focus on “making a home for her children and for her husband.” If a woman works outside the home and earns more than her husband, Fischer said, “that’s gonna put some stress on his psyche, gonna put some stress on that marriage.”</p><p><em>March 2011:</em> Fischer writes <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fischer-foolishness-religious-right-ranter-says-only-christians-have">a blog post </a>in which he opines that non-Christians have no legal rights in the United States. The First Amendment, he said, “was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity.” Fischer went on to assert, “From a constitutional point of view, Muslims have no First Amendment right to build mosques in America. They have that privilege at the moment, but it is a privilege that can be revoked if, as is in fact the case, Islam is a totalitarian ideology dedicated to the destruction of the United States.”</p><p><em>February 2011:</em> Native Americans, Fischer <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/opinion/radio-evangelist-preaches-an-ugly-message-18550">writes in a column</a>, deserved to have their land taken from them due to their “superstition, savagery and sexual immorality.” Observed Fischer, “The native American tribes at the time of the European settlement and founding of the United States were, virtually without exception, steeped in the basest forms of superstition, had been guilty of savagery in warfare for hundreds of years, and practiced the most debased forms of sexuality.”</p><p><em>March 2010:</em> Fischer opines that a killer whale at SeaWorld that killed its trainer must be <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/whale-tale-afa-staffer-says-bible-mandates-death-for-seaworld-orca">stoned to death</a> because that’s the biblical penalty for animals that cause the death of a human.</p><p><em>September 2009:</em> Addressing the Values Voter Summit, Fischer tells the crowd that <a href="https://au.org/church-state/october-2009-church-state/featured/of-piety-partisanship">Adolf Hitler invented the separation of church and state</a>. “Politics do not belong in the church, the church must be separate from the state – these two mottos, these two slogans…came directly from the mind of Adolf Hitler,” Fischer remarked. “Those two mottos, those two slogans, were official mottos, official slogans, of the Nazi Party.”</p><p>That’s just a sample of what the AFA’s star employee has been saying over the past few years. And what about the SPLC? What has it been up to?</p><p>Well, it has successfully sued a number of neo-Nazi groups (causing some of them to shut down), closely monitored white supremacist organizations and sounded the alarm about their activities, published data on hate groups and sponsored programs that educate young people about LGBT citizens and their rights – among other things.</p><p>I leave it to you to determine which group is extreme.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bryan-fischer">Bryan Fischer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/defense-of-marriage-act">Defense of Marriage Act</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/native-americans">Native Americans</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/seaworld">SeaWorld</a></span></div></div>Fri, 11 Oct 2013 14:06:53 +0000Rob Boston9051 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/values-void-religious-right-group-says-southern-poverty-law-center-is-agent#commentsWhat’s The Matter With Springboro?: Ohio City Grapples With Religious Right-Dominated School Boardhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/what-s-the-matter-with-springboro-ohio-city-grapples-with-religious-right
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">What happens when the Tea Party gets control of a school board? Just ask the people in Springboro, Ohio. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>There’s something rotten in the city of Springboro, Ohio. This community of about 17,000 in southwestern Ohio has suddenly become ground zero in a Religious Right-led culture war. What’s happening there should be a cautionary tale to all of us.</p><p>In the wake of elections last year, a three-member Tea Party faction now controls the school board. They’re up to no good.</p><p>In May, the board majority, all of whom ran on a fiscal conservative platform, suddenly began talking about finding a way to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/24/springboro-creationism_n_3333047.html">work creationism</a> into the science curriculum. One of the board members, Jim Rigano, told the Dayton <em>Daily News</em> that he believes introducing creationism would help the district “ensure we’re not indoctrinating one point of view or another.”</p><p>The American Civil Liberties Union quickly wrote to the board to explain why that was not such a good idea. <a href="https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-warns-ohio-school-board-to-keep-creationism-out-of-science">So did Americans United.</a> The board agreed to shelve the matter for now but made it clear they still like the idea and want to return to it later.</p><p>On the heels of that controversy, the board struck again. This time, members proposed offering a special course this summer on the Constitution – well, the far right’s interpretation of the Constitution.</p><p>The plan was to offer the courses to adults in the community this summer and then consider integrating the material into the school curriculum this fall.</p><p>The classes were offered by two groups called the Institute on the Constitution and the National Center for Constitutional Studies. The names sound innocuous, but they cloak an extreme agenda.</p><p>Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, pointed out on his blog that the Institute on the Constitution was founded and is directed by Michael Peroutka, the 2004 presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. The Institute leans heavily on material produced by “Christian nation” advocates John Eidsmoe and David Barton.</p><p>Worse yet, Throckmorton <a href="http://wthrockmorton.com/2013/07/league-of-south-members-behing-the-constitution-course-allowed-by-ohio-school-district/">noted that the Institute</a> has ties to the League of the South, a radical outfit that seeks to preserve the “Anglo-Celtic culture” of the South. The League, which can’t seem to accept that the Civil War is over, is actually working toward secession. It has been labeled a <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/league-of-the-south">racist hate group</a> by the Southern Poverty Law Center.</p><p>Wrote Throckmorton, “As it stands, the Springboro School District is offering to the public a course in the Constitution developed by members of an organization who desire to promote the dominance of the Anglo-Celtic people, the secession of Southern states from the nation, and align themselves with the pro-slavery fire-eaters of the Confederate South.”</p><p>Both Eidsmoe and Peroutka spoke at League of the South conferences in 2012 and 2013. Throckmorton’s blog contains a video clip of Peroutka at the 2012 event, standing in front of a backdrop festooned with various Confederate flags.</p><p>Concerned Springboro residents are speaking out. They’ve formed a Facebook group titled Springboro United for Responsible Education. On July 2, a group of alumni sent a <a href="http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2013/07/03/An_Open_Letter_to_the_Springboro_School_Board_from_Alumni.pdf">powerful letter</a> to the board.</p><p>“The intention of this letter is to demonstrate that a significant portion of the alumni population does not support recent decisions by the school board,” observed the missive. “Constructive legal arguments have already been made by others and subsequently ignored. We are not making policy recommendations. We are not demanding resignations. What we demand is that the board please respect and integrate the wishes of its constituency, and act within the law. What we request is the greater inclusion of the community in school policy and curriculum through the formation of a citizen advisory committee or organization of a special board meeting in which these topics may explicitly be addressed. We aim to illustrate, above all, the dissatisfaction of many of Springboro’s graduates.”</p><p>The board has decided to put the Constitution classes on hold for now. But many Springboro residents remain on alert, wondering what will happen next.</p><p>Springboro’s public schools have been nationally recognized for excellence. Many residents are worried that the district’s reputation will suffer if the board’s antics continue.</p><p>I hope that concerned parents in the city will continue to monitor the situation. In the meantime, let Springboro’s sorrow be a lesson to the rest of us: Local elections really do matter.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/creationism-evolution">Creationism &amp; Evolution</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/springboro">Springboro</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ohio">Ohio</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creationism">creationism</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/warren-throckmorton">Warren Throckmorton</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/institute-on-the-constitution">Institute on the Constitution</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/league-of-the-south">League of the South</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/national-center-for-constitutional-studies">National Center for Constitutional Studies</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-eidsmoe">John Eidsmoe</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/michael-peroutka">Michael Peroutka</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jim-rigano">Jim Rigano</a></span></div></div>Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:48:16 +0000Rob Boston8743 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/what-s-the-matter-with-springboro-ohio-city-grapples-with-religious-right#commentsUnholy Union: Why The Government Must Never Promote Theologyhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/unholy-union-why-the-government-must-never-promote-theology
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A government that presumes the power to determine which religion is &#039;right&#039; tramples human liberty. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Voters in three states – Maine, Maryland and Washington – approved marriage equality at the ballot box last month. Speculation now holds that Illinois may soon join the growing list of jurisdictions that allow same-sex marriage.</p><p>The Illinois legislature is scheduled to take up the matter next year. In preparation for the debate, more than 250 members of the clergy recently<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/us/260-in-illinois-clergy-call-for-legal-gay-marriage.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=1&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;adxnnlx=1356617021-U8fRDP1x%20Nd7mFuTBw0osQ"> issued an open letter</a> endorsing marriage equality.</p><p>“There can be no justification,” <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/acrobat/2012-12/158835580-23185637.pdf">the letter</a> asserts, “for the law treating people differently on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”</p><p>If you read the list of signers, you will note that they tend to come from the more moderate/liberal wings of American religious life. Endorsers include clergy from the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopalian Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church and others. Clergy from independent churches signed on, along with several rabbis.</p><p>Not surprisingly, the state’s leading Religious Right group is not impressed.</p><p>Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute, a group that is so strident in its anti-gay rhetoric that it has been <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/the-hard-liners">designated a hate group</a> by the Southern Poverty Law Center, asserted that the letter “is signed quite obviously by faith leaders who have adopted radical, ahistorical, heretical theological views.”</p><p>Without even realizing it, Higgins, in that single comment, provided one of the most powerful reasons why the government should not base public policy on marriage equality (or any other matter) on religious views.</p><p>The faiths that Higgins sees as “radical, ahistorical [and] heretical” are cherished by millions of people in Illinois as genuine and meaningful. Many of these people would likely look at the extremely conservative faith of Higgins and it consider it narrow, unfulfilling and perhaps even hateful. They certainly wouldn’t see it as an expression of God’s love.</p><p>Higgins and her allies would have the government operate as a type of theological referee, a body empowered to examine the various expressions of Christianity in America and determine which one is right, true and in accordance with the wishes of God. Not surprisingly, Higgins and her supporters are confident that the views of God just happen to perfectly align with their own. (How convenient!)</p><p>No thanks. We’ve been down this road before – many times. It’s a dangerous place to be. A government that presumes the power to determine which religion is “right” tramples human liberty. Government should always be neutral on questions of theology.</p><p>To the Religious Right, of course, neutrality equals hostility. To many supporters of this theocratic movement, a state that does not actively endorse their religion must be opposed to it.</p><p>Not so. Under the doctrine of church-state separation, government seeks a reasonable balance: Believe what you like and worship as you please – but don’t expect the government to help you impose your views on others. Don’t be so foolish as to believe that the government can be an instrument for building a “Godly society.” In a country of thousands of faiths (as well as a growing number of non-believers) there can be no consensus on what that term means.</p><p>If Illinois approves marriage equality, no house of worship will be required to recognize same-sex unions or perform them. No member of the clergy will be fined or sanctioned for criticizing gays from the pulpit. No individual fundamentalist will be compelled to change what he or she believes.</p><p>The only thing that will change is that the state of Illinois will have made it clear that it has no power to base public policy on theology. The only thing remarkable about this is that it’s almost the year 2013, and some people still find the notion controversial.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/illinois">Illinois</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/same-sex-marriage">same-sex marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/illinois-family-institute">Illinois Family Institute</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/laurie-higgins">Laurie Higgins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span></div></div>Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:24:16 +0000Rob Boston7860 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/unholy-union-why-the-government-must-never-promote-theology#commentsLet’s Do Lunch!: Religious Right Attacks Kids Making New Friends In Schoolhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/let-s-do-lunch-religious-right-attacks-kids-making-new-friends-in-school
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Bryan Fischer makes his living being the American Family Association’s in-house crackpot – and I’m sure there’s a lot of competition for the slot there.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>My son started high school in August, and I was glad that he has a tight circle of friends who went with him. They are helping one another navigate what can be a challenging transition for teenagers.</p><p>I want my son to appreciate his pals, some of whom he has known since elementary school, but I also want him to keep the door open to making new friends. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that in my case, I forged friendships in high school that are still going strong more than 30 years later.</p><p>In an effort to gently prod youngsters to meet some new people, many schools are taking part in “Mix It Up at Lunch Day” on Oct. 30. The idea is for students in public schools to eat lunch with someone they don’t know. They just might find they have some things in common.</p><p><a href="http://www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up/what-is-mix">The program</a> was launched by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) 11 years ago. It sounds pretty positive. But to the American Family Association (AFA), Mix It Up at Lunch Day is yet another manifestation of the “gay agenda.”</p><p><em>The New York Times</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/seeing-a-homosexual-agenda-christian-group-protests-an-anti-bullying-program.html?ref=us&amp;_r=1&amp;">reported</a> that the Tupelo, Miss.-based Religious Right group is urging parents to demand that their school drop out of the event or keep their kids home on Oct. 30. The AFA<a href="http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147527678"> has labeled</a> the event “a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools”</p><p>Now, there is one slight problem with the AFA’s conspiracy theory: None of the activities suggested for Mix It Up at Lunch Day address gay students. In fact, the SPLC conceived the day as a blow against school cliques. The idea, the SPLC’s Maureen Costello said, is to get young people associating with someone they might know little about.</p><p>“We’ve become used to the idea of lunatic fringe attacks,” Costello told <em>The Times</em>, “but this one was complete misrepresentation.”</p><p>Costello said the program was designed in part to reduce bullying in school. That was enough to set off the AFA. In recent years, the AFA and other Religious Right groups have taken the lead in standing up for the pro-bullying caucus in public schools. It seems as if any attempt to crack down on bullying is really an assault on fundamentalist Christian students, who have a God-given right to harass students who are gay or perceived to be gay.</p><p>“Anti-bullying legislation is exactly the same,” Bryan Fischer, the AFA’s director of issue analysis, told <em>The Times</em>. “It’s just another thinly veiled attempt to promote the homosexual agenda. No one is in favor of anyone getting bullied for any reason, but these anti-bullying policies become a mechanism for punishing Christian students who believe that homosexual behavior is not something that should be normalized.”</p><p>Fischer makes his living being the AFA’s in-house crackpot – and I’m sure there’s a lot of competition for the slot there. He has asserted that church-state separation was invented by Adolf Hitler, opined that slavery wasn’t so bad because it gave African Americans the opportunity to live in America and backed U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) after his infamous comment that women can’t get pregnant if they are victims of “legitimate rape.”</p><p>But it’s anything related to gays that really gets Fischer worked up. He was certain that allowing gay people to serve openly in the military would pretty much destroy the armed forces. That hasn’t happened – in fact, the transition has been quite smooth, military officials say – but Fischer is still confident that the end of Western Civilization is nigh. (Our friends at Right Wing Watch have a comprehensive Fischer <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/people/bryan-fischer?page=1">archive</a>. Take a look if you’re so inclined but be warned – you’re going to want some Pepto-Bismol nearby.)</p><p>Unfortunately, the raving of this man and the tin-foil hat brigade at the AFA have had an effect. About 200 schools have dropped out of Mix It Up at Lunch Day.</p><p>I wish these school administrators would grow a spine. Rather than kowtow to the AFA, they should follow the example of Kevin Brady, who runs the Avon Grove Charter School in West Grove, Pa. The school serves about 1,600 students, including a large number of special-needs kids. Some of those youngsters felt isolated, he said, and Mix It Up at Lunch Day was helpful to them.</p><p>Brady told <em>The Times</em> that the AFA’s message had “absolutely no resemblance to what we do.” He said the school explained the program to parents, and now he doesn’t expect any students to be kept home on Oct. 30.</p><p>“I think they feel they have been taken for a bit of a ride,” Brady said of the parents who reacted to the AFA’s email.</p><p>Indeed they were – it was a ride to the Religious Right’s hateful and paranoid wilderness. All it takes is a little courage to slam on the brakes.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bryan-fischer">Bryan Fischer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/maureen-costello">Maureen Costello</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mix-it-up-at-lunch-day">Mix It Up At Lunch Day</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kevin-brady">Kevin Brady</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/avon-grove-charter-school">Avon Grove Charter School</a></span></div></div>Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:17:30 +0000Rob Boston7637 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/let-s-do-lunch-religious-right-attacks-kids-making-new-friends-in-school#commentsAdvice Ignored: Politicos Attend Values Voter Summit Despite Pleas From Human Rights Groups https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/advice-ignored-politicos-attend-values-voter-summit-despite-pleas-from
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Family Research Council, which sponsors the Values Voter Summit, as a hate group. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">It’s disappointing that some politicians won’t listen to reason. </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Today is the first day of the Values Voter Summit, an annual Religious Right gathering hosted by the Family Research Council, American Family Association Action and others in Washington, D.C. </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Scheduled to speak are a number of high-ranking politicians, including U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and the Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Rep Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">These powerful leaders are expected to speak at the conference despite stern warnings from an array of human rights groups. </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">A coalition including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the National Black Justice Coalition and the National Council of La Raza have <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/human-rights-groups-urge-public-officials-not-attend-155600419.html">asked public officials not to attend the Values Voter Summit</a>. The reason: because “the </span></font><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Family Research Council</span></font><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;"> has spread demonizing lies about the LGBT community, and because one of its co-sponsors, the </span></font><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">American Family Association</span></font><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">, has linked homosexuality to the Holocaust.”</span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">In fact, the SPLC has designated the Family Research Council as a hate group. If you take a look at the “<a href="http://www.valuesvotersummit.org/schedule">workshops” offered during the summit</a>, it’s not hard to see why. </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. will be leading a session called “Vertical Vote Campaign for Life, Marriage and Religious Liberties,” which is based on the premise that “the institution of marriage is under a barrage of attacks from certain politicians, judicial activists, and citizen advocates.” Jackson is fiercely opposed to civil rights for gays, having asserted that God <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/harry-jackson-claims-god-removing-marriage-equality-proponents-office">removes gay rights advocates from public office</a> and that marriage equality and the gay rights movement <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jackson-gay-marriage-part-satanic-plot-destroy-family">are the work of the Devil</a>.</span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Another panel is titled “Israel, Iran and the Future of Western Civilization.” One of the “experts” who will discuss Iran is retired Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, who is now a vice president at the FRC. <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-nuttiness-frc-hires-islam-bashing-ex-army-officer-for-top-position">He once claimed to have captured an Islamic warlord in Somalia</a> because “I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol.” </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">A third panel is titled “Debunking the Myth of Separation...Why Pastors Must Engage in Politics.” It is being led by the Rev. Rick Scarborough, a Texas preacher who calls gays “sodomites” and thinks AIDS is God’s punishment for homosexuality. He <a href="http://tfninsider.org/2009/12/22/rick-scarborough-birther-extremist/">has denounced church-state separation</a> as a lie of Satan. As my colleague Rob Boston has reported, “In the mid 1990s, Scarborough <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/march-2000-church-state/editorial/profaning-the-pulpit">briefly succeeded in getting his allies elected to the city council</a> and school board in Pearland, Texas, where he pastored a Baptist church. He announced plans to export his political model to other communities, but the effort fizzled after a scandal erupted, and Pearland voters refused to reelect Scarborough’s candidates.”</span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">And yet, despite <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/whos-who-values-voter-summit-2012">shrill speakers like these</a>, many elected officials are still stumping at the Values Voter Summit, lending credibility to groups that should have none. </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">That’s why several Americans United staffers, including myself, will be at the Values Voter Summit this weekend. We feel it’s important to keep a close eye on the Religious Right – especially when government policy is involved. </span></font></span></font></span></div><div style="margin:0 0 10pt 0;"><span lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">I attended my first Values Voter Summit last year, and was treated to a dizzying display of people whose minds are divorced from reality and whose hearts are full of hate. I expect more of the same this year. Should make for an interesting time. </span></font></span></font></span></div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-groups%E2%80%99-involvement-in-candidate-elections">Religious Groups’ Involvement in Candidate Elections</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bishop-harry-jackson-jr">Bishop Harry Jackson Jr</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lt-gen-william-g-boykin">Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rep-eric-cantor">Rep. Eric Cantor</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-rand-paul">Sen. Rand Paul</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rep-paul-ryan">Rep. Paul Ryan</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span></div></div>Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:46:57 +0000Simon Brown7545 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/advice-ignored-politicos-attend-values-voter-summit-despite-pleas-from#commentsGeorgia Fringe Fest: Radical Religious Right Group To Hold ‘Christian Heritage Day’ In Statehousehttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/georgia-fringe-fest-radical-religious-right-group-to-hold-christian
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It is deplorable that such a radical group is given carte blanche to hold a day-long event in a state capital with the blessing of lawmakers.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>If you happen to be wandering around the Georgia statehouse on Sept. 13, you might think you’ve stumbled into a church meeting rather than a place of public business.</p><p>Next month, a Georgia-based organization known as American Vision <a href="http://americanvision.org/6160/georgias-christian-heritage-day-at-the-state-capitol-september-13th/#.UDT5s6OWrcs">will hold an event</a> called “Georgia’s Christian Heritage Day” at the statehouse in Atlanta. The program will offer participants a tour of the building, as well as an opportunity to meet with state lawmakers. At least one, Sen. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville), is scheduled to address the group.</p><p>American Vision says that the motivation behind this event is simple: to educate people about the state’s “Christian history.”</p><p>“We often speak about the Christian heritage of America in general, but few people know how that was manifested in the individual states,” American Vision said on its website. “American Vision invites you to come for a day of discovery as we uncover some of the lost, obscured, and untold Christian history” of the state of Georgia.</p><p>Topics of conversation at the event include “How Homeschooling Became Legal in Georgia,” “The Christian Founding of Georgia,” “The Christian Heroes of Georgia” and “How a Bill becomes Law in Georgia.”</p><p>With the exception of learning about how a bill becomes law, everything about this is wrong. The statehouse should be a place for conducting public business, not a platform for the spread of misinformation by a sectarian organization.</p><p>As Americans United has explained many times, America was not founded to be a Christian nation. By association, Georgia was not founded to be a Christian state. In fact, it was originally intended to be <a href="http://http://www.ushistory.org/us/5d.asp">a place of rehabilitation</a> for those unfortunate enough to find themselves in British debtors’ jails.</p><p>Then there’s the fact that American Vision isn’t your run-of-the-mill Religious Right organization. On its website, the group says its goal is “to Restore America to its Biblical Foundation –from Genesis to Revelation.”</p><p>In fact, American Vision leaders subscribe to the Christian Reconstructionist viewpoint, which means they advocate <a href="http://www.au.org/resources/religious-right/american-vision">taking control over the United States</a> and running it as a fundamentalist theocracy.</p><p>Reconstructionists advocate a particularly shrill version of “biblical law,” and a whole range of people would be candidates for the death penalty – homosexuals, adulterers, fornicators, witches, incorrigible juvenile delinquents and those who spread false religions, just for starters.</p><p>American Vision President Gary DeMar downplays his guiding theology’s most over-the-top manifestations, but it still creeps out frequently. For example, he has said the Bible calls for the execution of gay people.</p><p>This kind of extremism has led the Southern Poverty Law Center to identify American Vision as a hate group.</p><p>American Vision recently defended U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who said “<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80039.html">legitimate rape</a>” rarely leads to pregnancy. Akin has since been called on by Democrats and Republicans alike to drop out of the race for a U.S. Senate seat, but American Vision dismissed Akin’s comment as merely “unfortunate.” The group said Akin is himself <a href="http://americanvision.org/6278/legitimate-political-gang-rape/#.UDXFtGlWqAY">a victim of “political gang rape.”</a></p><p>It is deplorable that such a radical group is given carte blanche to hold a day-long event in a state capital with the blessing of lawmakers.</p><p>Sadly it seems to be a growing trend that sectarian groups are being encouraged to hold events at statehouses. Just last week, we told you about a three-day <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/what-s-still-the-matter-with-kansas-revival-workshop-at-statehouse-shows">“transforming revival” workshop</a> that had been scheduled to take place in the main chamber of the Kansas House of Representatives. Fortunately that event was moved to another venue thanks to complaints from Americans United and the news media.</p><p>Hopefully raising the issue will encourage Georgia lawmakers to follow Kansas’ lead.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/prayer-at-government-events-and-legislative-meetings">Prayer at Government Events and Legislative Meetings</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-vision">American Vision</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/todd-akin">Todd Akin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-barry-loudermilk">Sen. Barry Loudermilk</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span></div></div>Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:36:13 +0000Simon Brown7469 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/georgia-fringe-fest-radical-religious-right-group-to-hold-christian#commentsOff Course: Complaint Says N.C. Churches Used Taxpayer Money To Discriminatehttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/off-course-complaint-says-nc-churches-used-taxpayer-money-to-discriminate
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">This is yet another example of why it’s problematic to give taxpayer funds to religious organizations to operate social programs.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It seems some U.S. armed services veterans who recently returned from fighting the War on Terror are facing a new battle at home: federally funded gender discrimination. </p><p>According to a <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-files-complaint-to-end-sex-discrimination-against-veterans-in-nc">complaint filed last week</a> by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a cooperative of 300 churches in Asheville and Buncombe County, N.C., which provides services for the homeless as well as low-income veterans and families, has allegedly been offering very different job-training classes for male veterans than for female.</p><p>The Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry receives funding from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans Workforce Investment Program and the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, according to the SPLC. <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/nclgbtcomplaint.pdf">Recently the group was given $200,000</a> by the Department of Labor to assist homeless veterans through job training and other services.</p><p>But according to an SPLC complaint filed before the Department of Labor, veteran Emily Bagby alleged that women were only allowed to participate in courses that would give them the skills to be homemakers. While men were allowed to learn about truck driving, culinary arts and “green” jobs, women were forced to choose from offerings in knitting, art therapy, yoga, meditation, how to de-clutter a room and self-esteem boosting. </p><p>Lost among the overwhelming gender bias alleged in the complaint was another issue: federal funds being used to promote religion. Bagby also alleged that women were offered Bible study classes; unfortunately her complaint does not say whether these classes were also available to men, nor does it offer any details on the courses.</p><p>While it is possible that a federally funded Bible study class could be taught in such a way that it would not raise constitutional concerns, it is highly doubtful that a group of churches would even attempt to structure the class in that way. If these charges are true, the co-op is using taxpayer funds not only to discriminate against women, but to indoctrinate them, too. </p><p>Our veterans and the public deserve better than this. Federal officials should investigate this matter. If the allegations are deemed accurate, the church co-op should change its ways or lose its tax funding. If the co-op gives up the public support, then it will be free to proselytize all it wants.</p><p>This is yet another example of why it’s problematic to give taxpayer funds to religious organizations to operate social programs. Many of these groups can and do use the money appropriately, but we know that some are quick to take the cash and use it in ways that further their theological views.</p><p>Until there is better oversight and accountability of religious organizations that receive federal funding, however, stories like this will continue to pop up.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/asheville-buncombe-community-christian-ministry">Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/us-department-of-labor">U.S. Department of Labor</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/north-carolina">North Carolina</a></span></div></div>Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:52:29 +0000Simon Brown7400 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/off-course-complaint-says-nc-churches-used-taxpayer-money-to-discriminate#comments